


This Time

by thenerdyindividual



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Angst with a Happy Ending, Apologies, Breaking Up & Making Up, F/M, Gentle Kissing, Love Confessions, Punk Merlin (Merlin), Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:14:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25211476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenerdyindividual/pseuds/thenerdyindividual
Summary: Merlin has spent a millennia waiting for Arthur to show. He's more or less resigned himself to never seeing him again, let alone any of of his other friends. Then Morgana arrives, and with her she brings hope.
Relationships: Merlin/Morgana (Merlin)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 100





	This Time

**Author's Note:**

> Look, did I think I only had one Mergana fic in me? Yes. Was I wrong? Clearly.

The little bell above the shop door tinkles merrily, drawing Merlin away from the dusty tones he’s shelving. He can’t see who it is, blocked as they are by the rows of bookshelves between himself and the door. 

“I’ll be there in a minute!” he calls to the mystery patron, and shoved the last few books into place. 

He receives no response, but that’s hardly surprising. The people who frequent their little shop tend to be like him; strange, unsettled, drifting. There’s something about the combination of used book store, and rare book library that seems comforting to them all. It’s why Merlin is still here, after all, it’s the longest job he’s held in the last millennia. 

He clambers down the ladder, dusting his hands on his worn black jeans. They have holes in the knee that’ll need repairing soon, but for now they’re simply fashionable. 

He rounds the corner, smile and greeting in place. Customer service had turned out not to be so different than being a manservant, though he did have to learn to temper his tongue. His eyes flick to the figure leaning against the counter, and he stops short. 

“Morgana?”

She smiles at him, genuine and without the haunted madness of the last time he saw her. She looks… good seems an understatement. Her hair is shiny and wavy again, cheeks flushed with health. She’s in a fashionable, no doubt very expensive, suit. 

He is so desperately glad that in this time she is untouched so far. 

“Hello, Merlin.” she says sweetly, and his knees nearly give out. It’s been even longer since he heard that level of gentleness in her tone. 

“How did you…” _How did you find me? How did you remember?_

“You weren’t hard to find. Merlin Emrys, really?” she teases. 

Merlin flashes her an awkward grin, “Most people don’t think twice about it.”

They just stare at each other then. Dust moats swirl between them in Golden afternoon sunlight. Not another soul has bothered to enter the shop. 

“You’re still scared of me.” It’s a statement, not a question. Though she does sound disappointed. 

“It was wise to be scared of you long before we ended up on opposite sides, my lady.”

She laughs, joyful and free, and takes a step closer to him, “If anything I should be scared of you.”

Merlin shakes his head vehemently. He won’t hurt her. He won’t. 

She rests her hand on his cheek, as though trying to test if he’s truly real. It’s soft, and warm. It isn’t the hands he felt the last time, calloused and cold. His eyes flutter closed, and he lets out a whoosh of breath. His knees buckle. His hand covers hers, desperate to keep it close, and his head turns instinctively into the touch. 

It soothes some of the ache he’s always carried with him. 

When he dares to open his eyes again, Morgana stares at him, her green eyes wide with confusion. 

“But… you…”

“I knew we could never be.” he answers the unasked question, lips brushing her wrist. 

“But Arthur…”

“I loved him too, and I didn’t know how to choose. I picked the path I thought was right and I hurt you in the process.”

Morgana’s eyes harden a little, “Perhaps if I’d gotten support from you then things may have not gotten so dire.”

Merlin nods. She doesn't try to remove her hand. 

“Perhaps Morgause turned my anger towards Uther against Arthur. But I made choices too. I chose to harden my heart. I chose to cross a line that I could never come back from. Those choices are not on your shoulders, no matter how terrible your decision making skills are.”

Merlin huffs a little laugh, tears pricking at his eyes, “I never wanted…”

“I know.” she says gently, and she wipes some of the tears with her thumb. Her eyes crinkle mischievously and she flicks his ear, “These are new.”

She means the two rings he’d gotten in his cartilage on impulse in the 90s. 

“I have a couple of tattoos too.” he tells her. 

She shakes her head, amused, “Oh, Merlin. Always such a rebel.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too.”

She still hasn’t tried to remove her hand. He can’t bear the thought of letting go. 

“I was starting to think I would never see any of you again.” Merlin admits, “Once or twice I thought I’d seen Lancelot. There was a girl in Spain I swore was Gwaine. I was wrong every time.”

“Arthur’s here.” 

Merlin’s heart thumps heavily in his chest, “What?”

“Well not _here_ , but he’s alive. Not my brother this time, just a childhood friend. He’s still as obnoxious as last time.”

“Does he…”

“Remember? No. Not yet. Sometimes, though, he gets this faraway look in his eye. It’s like he’s trying to see something through a dirty pane of glass.”

Merlin lets out a strangled noise close to a sob. 

“Gwen is alive too. I’m not sure if she’ll ever remember.” she says sadly, “I think my visions are the only reason I know.”

Merlin’s eyes squeeze shut. He’s missed them all so terribly. The world shifted, forgot them all except in stories. He’s the only one who remembered them properly, remembered them as the flawed people they were. 

“We’ll get it right this time.” Morgana says, the fierceness in her voice so familiar. 

Merlin presses a kiss to the delicate skin of her wrist. He can feel her pulse, steady and alive, beneath his lips. 

“Oh Merlin.” she says, voice filled with too many emotions to name, “I told Arthur once that you were a lover, not a fighter. If only you’d been more of a fighter, perhaps none of this would have happened.”

Merlin keeps his lips pressed to her wrist, “But we wouldn’t be here now.”

“But we wouldn’t be here now.” she echoes, and guides his face around to face her properly. 

She leans in, and kisses him. Like the mountain of baggage between them doesn’t matter. Like the complication of him loving Arthur too is irrelevant. 

Her lips are dry and soft. She kisses firmly, taking what she wants. Merlin doesn’t try to resist. He’s happy to open his mouth to hers. Happy to love her if only she’ll let him. 

They draw back for air, and Merlin rests his forehead against hers. “I want to see Arthur.”

Morgana’s face splits into an amused grin, “I’d be offended that that’s the first thing you think of after I snogged you, if I hadn’t already expected it.” 

“It doesn’t bother you?”

“That you love him? No. The two of you were joined at the hip. He was your dearest friend, and you were his. Destiny intertwined you, and we saw how well fighting that went for us last time.”

Merlin finally reaches out for her then. His hand comes to rest on her waist, and he draws her close. He buries his face in her neck, inhaling the scent of her perfume that is no doubt overpriced, and holds her like he’s always wanted to do. 

“We’ll get it right this time.”


End file.
